Natural brown sugar is brown sugar made by partially refining sugar cane extract, whereas most brown sugar is made by adding molasses to fully refined sugar, which may come from sugar beet.
Golden coloured natural brown sugar is produced by extracting the juice from sugar cane, heating it to evaporate water and crystallise the sugar, then spinning in a centrifuge to remove some impurities and further dry the sugar. It is commonly used in baking and to sweeten beverages such as coffee and tea.
In the United Kingdom, this sugar is typically sold as demerara sugar, after the Demerara colony in Guyana. This was the original source of the sugar, although most of it is now produced in Mauritius.
In the United States, a similar sugar is commonly called turbinado sugar, after the centrifuges or turbines in which it is spun.[1] In the United States, most turbinado sugar is produced in Hawaii and is often sold as an organic product. There are slight differences in taste between turbinado and demerara sugar.[2] A third, somewhat lighter, type is produced in Mexico under the name Azucar Morena[3]
These types of natural brown sugar are typically paler and drier than what is normally sold as brown sugar, and have larger crystals, particularly turbinado sugar.
Muscovado sugar, or "Barbados sugar", is an unrefined, darker natural brown sugar that is produced without spinning in a centrifuge.